Smiling Mind Feeling It - Series 2 Episode 6 - Doors, doors, doors: Exploring your identity

[On-screen text: Marlee Silva, Author]

Marlee: I am a massive dog lover and a proud Kamilaroi and Dunghutti girl.

[On-screen text: Angus Brayshaw, AFL Footballer]

Angus: I'm a young man, I play football professionally.

[On-screen text: Samantha Andrew, Content Creator]

Samantha: I'm a bisexual comedian, performer, online content creator.

[On-screen text: Logan Martin, Olympic BMX Gold Medalist]

Logan: I'm a professional freestyle BMX rider and the first over Olympic gold medalist in the sport.

Jazz - host: I am a Greek, Sudanese, doughnut-obsessed dancer and TikToker.

[On-screen text: Feeling It]

Jazz - host: Welcome back to Feeling It, a colourful mindfullness-loving internet show. On this episode, we're looking at identity. Do you ever find yourself thinking about who you are?

[On-screen text: WHO AM I?]

[On-screen text: Bonnie-Mai, Year 10]

Bonnie-Mai: I'm constantly changing my mind on who I think I am.

[On-screen text: Ned, Year 11]

Ned: I feel like I'm pretty certain about who I am.

[On-screen text: Tiyanie, Year 10]

Tiyanie: Sometimes it changes, but there are certain parts of me that I know are pretty solid.

[On-screen text: WHO AM I?]

Jazz - host: When we talk about identity, we're talking about our sense of self and where we belong.

[On-screen text: WHO AM I? HOW AM I?]

Jazz - host: People who have a strong sense of it can feel less anxious, more grounded and in touch with their emotions. But that doesn't mean figuring out your identity is easy. Let's work through it. Imagine your world is like a giant house with lots of rooms. Each room represents the different communities of people who make who you are. When you're a kid, you kind of stay in one or two rooms. Your family group here, or maybe your sports club or school group here. But as you grow up, you begin to discover and explore some of the other rooms in your house. The rooms you like to spend time in most make up your identity. You might go out and spend more time with your cultural heritage, or discover where you fit within the LGBTIQ+ community. Exploring all these rooms will help you realize all the communities you can belong to, which together make up your identity.

Bonnie-Mai: In my house, there would be a room full of Taylor Swift fans.

Charlie: Big band room.

Anika: A room for my Indian culture and heritage.

Ned: Gaming room.

Tiyanie: Dance, soccer, and neurodivergency.

Jazz - host: New rooms will open up for you over your entire life, which means our identities can shift and change so you never need to feel boxed in by your identity. You may have spent last year hanging out in one room, but you may never need to go back there again. This is why it's important to respect that everyone's identity has the right to change. Your friend might come to you and say they don't identify in a certain way anymore but have a new identity they'd like you to respect. This can be confusing, and we might worry that our friend is changing. But if you can, try and imagine a new door opening inside their house, maybe even get excited for them.

Marlee: When I was at school, my cultural identity made me feel like an outsider.

[On-screen text: Meissa Mason, Content Creator]

Meissa: I used to not be so open and accepting of myself being queer when I was younger and in high school.

Samantha: A few years ago, when I met my now partner, I had to really reflect and look at my queerness in a different light.

Jazz - host: You might also find that some of your identities are in conflict with one another, which is totally okay. Try not to make assumptions about someone's identity. That's where stereotypes come from.

Marlee: I am a vegetarian and I still have a couple of pairs of real leather boots.

Angus: The fact that I'm an AFL footballer, and also the fact that I've always been a sweet tooth.

Jazz - host: Finally, you might also wish to keep some parts of your identity to yourself until you feel ready to share them. And that's totally okay. If you are struggling with issues of identity or you're experiencing bullying because of your identity, now's the time to speak to a trusted adult, like a parent or a teacher. If that's not an option for you, these are some places that are here to help. See you next time.

[On-screen text listing suggested resources]

Check out the Feeling It program In the Smiling Mind App.

[End transcript]

Updated